Tornadoes · United States · Alabama · 2022
EF0 tornado, Good Hope to Kent, Alabama, April 5, 2022
From Good Hope to Kent, this EF0 tornado ran 5.3 miles across Elmore County on April 5, 2022, touching down at 11:06 AM CDT and reaching 300 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The record
- Rating
- EF0
- Date
- April 5, 2022
- Touchdown
- 11:06 AM CDT (16:06 UTC)
- Lifted
- 11:13 AM CDT (16:13 UTC)
- On the ground
- 7 minutes
- Path length
- 5.3 miles (8.5 km)
- Path width
- 300 yards (274 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Elmore County
- Touchdown point
- 32.573, -86.022
- Lift-off point
- 32.610, -85.944
- Record number
- 2204051006-01
The damage survey
69 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS BMX, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 134 mph.
- Footage from ALEA helicopter shows a swath of downed trees with a circular pattern.
- Pines snapped in all directions from a previously cleared field
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
An upper-level disturbance moved across the Deep South in the early morning hours of April 5, 2022. This fostered the development of a surface low which moved across Central Mississippi and into North Alabama. Thunderstorms in the morning initially posed a threat of large hail and damaging winds. Later in the morning and into the afternoon, storms became more surface-based and a tornado threat resulted, mainly impacting the southern and southeastern portions of Central Alabama. On April 6th, a strong cold front moved through Alabama, producing another round of severe thunderstorms, but no tornadoes.
National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in eastern Elmore County and determined that it was consistent with an EF0 tornado, with maximum winds near 85 mph. The tornado touched down along Highway 14 just east of County Road 186.|Damage consisted mostly of uprooted trees with some structural damage caused by fallen trees. A few homes also had damage caused directly by wind, such as missing shingles, soffit, and fascia. A carport was also blown off a home. The tornado dissipated |at Kent Road.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
12 minutes of warning. NWS BMX issued a tornado warning for this county at 15:54 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 16:22 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 11:52 UTC and running to 16:50 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:52 UTC | 16:50 UTC | Tornado Watch | BMX |
| 12:25 UTC | 13:05 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX |
| 15:54 UTC | 16:22 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
| 15:56 UTC | 16:23 UTC | Tornado Warning | BMX |
| 16:21 UTC | 16:52 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | BMX |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 12:53 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
The air that afternoon
The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.
Birmingham, AL (KBMX), 00:00Z
7.9 hours after it, 99 km from the path. April 6, 2022.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 29 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -230 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 438 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1000 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 24 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 75 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 158 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.2
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.5 K/km
The surface observations
Alexander City (ALX), 36 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:15 UTC | 60.8 | 60.4 | 120° 7 kt | 1006.4 | TSRA | |
| 14:35 UTC | 61.2 | 61 | 80° 5 kt | 1006.1 | TSRA | |
| 14:55 UTC | 62 | 62 | 290° 13 kt | 17 | 1007.1 | +TSRA |
| 15:15 UTC | 60 | 59.5 | 80° 6 kt | 1005.4 | VCTSRA | |
| 15:35 UTC | 60 | 60 | 310° 9 kt | 1005.8 | +TSRA | |
| 15:55 UTC | 60.4 | 60 | 360° 4 kt | 1006.4 | +TSRA | |
| 16:15 UTC | 60 | 60 | 330° 14 kt | 1007.1 | +VCTSRA | |
| 16:35 UTC | 62 | 61.7 | 0° 0 kt | 1005.1 | VCTSRA | |
| 16:55 UTC | 62 | 61.7 | 190° 3 kt | 1005.4 | -TSRA | |
| 17:15 UTC | 62.4 | 62 | 190° 5 kt | 1006.1 | TSRA | |
| 17:35 UTC | 63 | 62.8 | 200° 3 kt | 1006.8 | -VCTSRA | |
| 17:55 UTC | 63.5 | 63.3 | 0° 0 kt | 1005.8 | -VCTSRA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 19 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:07 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sse Wetumpka | Elmore, AL | TREES DOWN ON HARROGATE SPRINGS RD. |
| 15:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 E Wetumpka | Elmore, AL | POSSIBLE TORNADO. TREES DOWN ACROSS FIRETOWER RD. |
| 15:55 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Sse Wetumpka | Elmore, AL | NWS BIRMINGHAM STORM SURVEY TEAM DETERMINED AN EF-1 TORNADO OCCURRED NEAR WETUMPKA, AL. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG HARROGATE SPRINGS ROAD, SNAPPING AND UPROOTING TREES ALONG ITS PATH. THE TORNADO MOVED EAST-NORTHEAST |
| 16:06 UTC | TORNADO | 3 E Claud | Elmore, AL | AN EF-0 TORNADO TRACK WAS CONFIRMED IN EASTERN ELMORE COUNTY. THE TORNADO BEGAN ALONG HIGHWAY 14 JUST EAST OF CLAUD AND ENDED ALONG HIGHWAY 229 IN BURLINGTON. DAMAGE CONSISTED OF DOWNED TREES AND SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE C |
| 16:10 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Se Eclectic | Elmore, AL | TREES DOWN AND STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ON NEMAN RD. TORNADO DEBRIS SIGNATURE. |
| 16:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nw Yates Dam | Elmore, AL | TREES DOWN ON HWY 229. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 16:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 N Reeltown | Tallapoosa, AL | POSSIBLE TORNADO. TREES AND HOUSES DAMAGED ON WILDLIFE RD. |
| 16:16 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Pine Level | Montgomery, AL | POSSIBLE TORNADO. TRAILER DAMAGE ON HWY 231. |
| 16:19 UTC | TORNADO | 1 N Franklin | Macon, AL | A SMALL BUT CLEARLY DISCERNIBLE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN JUST 4.9 MILES SOUTH OF THE KMXX RADAR ALONG ALABAMA HIGHWAY 49 IN THE FRANKLIN COMMUNITY. A FEW SMALL LIMBS WERE BROKEN IN TREES JUST EAST OF HWY 49 JUST EAST OF THE |
| 16:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Pine Level | Montgomery, AL | DEBRIS DOWN ACROSS ROAD AT MM 90. POSSIBLE TORNADO. |
| 16:20 UTC | TORNADO | 2 N Franklin | Macon, AL | TREES DOWN NEAR CTY RD 36 AND HWY 49. TREES ALSO DOWN ON CTY RD 56 AND HWY 199. TORNADO DEBRIS SIGNATURE. |
| 16:22 UTC | TORNADO | 4 Nnw Reeltown | Tallapoosa, AL | AN EF-0 TORNADO TRACK WAS CONFIRMED IN SOUTHERN TALLAPOOSA COUNTY, JUST NORTHWEST OF REELTOWN ALONG A PORTION OF BUCK CREEK. DAMAGE MAINLY CONSISTED OF DOWNED TREES WITH SOME STRUCTURAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY FALLEN TREES/LIMB |
| 16:45 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Ese Ridge Grove | Chambers, AL | AN EF-0 TORNADO TRACK WAS CONFIRMED NEAR BLACKMAN IN WESTERN CHAMBERS COUNTY. AN OUTBUILDING WAS DAMAGED WITH SHEET METAL BLOWN DOWNWIND. OTHERWISE, SOME TREES WERE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED ALONG THE SHORT PATH OF THE TORNAD |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in AlabamaEvery tornado in Alabama since 1950Warnings in force in Alabama nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 5, 2022
66 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 5 | 3:45 AM CDT | EF1 | Lincoln Parish, LA | 5.1 | 150 | $10,000 | ||
| April 5 | 6:46 AM CDT | EF1 | Scott, MS | 7.6 | 100 | $40,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:00 AM CDT | EF1 | Scott, MS | 4.7 | 300 | $25,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:06 AM CDT | EF1 | Jefferson Davis, MS | 3.1 | 100 | $40,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:09 AM CDT | EF1 | Scott, MS | 2.1 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:09 AM CDT | EF2 | Jefferson Davis, MS | 14.8 | 400 | $150,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:16 AM CDT | EF1 | Newton, MS | 4.0 | 100 | $75,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:22 AM CDT | EF1 | Covington, MS | 16.5 | 440 | $81,000 | ||
| April 5 | 7:56 AM CDT | EF1 | Jones, MS | 8.6 | 250 | $50,000 | ||
| April 5 | 8:06 AM CDT | EF1 | Clarke, MS | 2.9 | 250 | $150,000 | ||
| April 5 | 8:14 AM CDT | EF2 | Wayne, MS | 2.2 | 250 | |||
| April 5 | 8:18 AM CDT | EF0 | Lauderdale, MS | 2.5 | 25 | $30,000 | ||
| April 5 | 8:19 AM CDT | EF1 | Wayne, MS | 2.6 | 100 | |||
| April 5 | 8:36 AM CDT | EF1 | Wayne, MS | 0.3 | 50 | |||
| April 5 | 9:03 AM CDT | EF2 | Clarke, AL | 9.5 | 800 | |||
| April 5 | 9:10 AM CDT | EF1 | Clarke, AL | 1.8 | 100 | |||
| April 5 | 10:10 AM CDT | EF1 | Monroe, AL | 1.5 | 75 | |||
| April 5 | 10:54 AM CDT | EF2 | Elmore, AL | 4.4 | 900 | |||
| April 5 | 10:56 AM CDT | EF2 | Crenshaw, AL | 1.3 | 250 | |||
| April 5 | 11:03 AM CDT | EF2 | Pike, AL | 12.7 | 1,100 | |||
| April 5 | 11:19 AM CDT | EF1 | Macon, AL | 4.3 | 250 | |||
| April 5 | 11:20 AM CDT | Unrated | Crenshaw, AL | 0.4 | 25 | |||
| April 5 | 11:22 AM CDT | EF0 | Tallapoosa, AL | 1.8 | 110 | |||
| April 5 | 11:34 AM CDT | EF1 | Pike, AL | 7.6 | 550 | |||
| April 5 | 11:45 AM CDT | EF0 | Chambers, AL | 0.4 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 11:50 AM CDT | EF1 | Bullock, AL | 1.6 | 600 | |||
| April 5 | 12:38 PM CDT | EF1 | Barbour, AL | 1.5 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 2:04 PM EDT | EF1 | Chattahoochee, GA | 6.7 | 300 | |||
| April 5 | 1:24 PM CDT | EF0 | Henry, AL | 2.8 | 50 | |||
| April 5 | 2:29 PM EDT | EF1 | Taylor, GA | 3.0 | 150 | |||
| April 5 | 1:38 PM CDT | EF0 | Houston, AL | 6.8 | 200 | $150,000 | ||
| April 5 | 1:39 PM CDT | EF1 | Geneva, AL | 0.2 | 50 | $3,000 | ||
| April 5 | 2:50 PM EDT | EF1 | Taylor, GA | 7.2 | 300 | |||
| April 5 | 1:53 PM CDT | EF0 | Houston, AL | 0.1 | 25 | $50,000 | ||
| April 5 | 3:01 PM EDT | EF1 | Macon, GA | 17.3 | 250 | |||
| April 5 | 3:07 PM EDT | EF1 | Crawford, GA | 8.8 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 3:15 PM EDT | EF1 | Early, GA | 4.9 | 50 | |||
| April 5 | 3:15 PM EDT | EF1 | Early, GA | 7.1 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| April 5 | 3:26 PM EDT | EF2 | Dooly, GA | 5.8 | 300 | |||
| April 5 | 3:33 PM EDT | EF1 | Bibb, GA | 2.0 | 100 | |||
| April 5 | 3:49 PM EDT | EF3 | Houston, GA | 3.9 | 820 | 3 | ||
| April 5 | 3:50 PM EDT | EF3 | Allendale, SC | 13.3 | 1,000 | 1 | ||
| April 5 | 3:51 PM EDT | EF0 | Baker, GA | 0.6 | 25 | |||
| April 5 | 4:01 PM EDT | EF0 | Baldwin, GA | 1.7 | 150 | |||
| April 5 | 4:11 PM EDT | EF1 | Twiggs, GA | 12.3 | 400 | |||
| April 5 | 4:12 PM EDT | EF1 | Mitchell, GA | 8.1 | 50 | $100,000 | ||
| April 5 | 4:14 PM EDT | EF1 | Bleckley, GA | 7.6 | 125 | |||
| April 5 | 4:18 PM EDT | EF1 | Bamberg, SC | 3.7 | 250 | |||
| April 5 | 4:20 PM EDT | EF0 | Wilcox, GA | 9.4 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 4:39 PM EDT | EF0 | Bamberg, SC | 2.4 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 4:53 PM EDT | EF0 | Orangeburg, SC | 1.0 | 50 | |||
| April 5 | 5:07 PM EDT | EF0 | Orangeburg, SC | 0.8 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 5:10 PM EDT | EF0 | Treutlen, GA | 0.9 | 100 | |||
| April 5 | 5:17 PM EDT | EF1 | Treutlen, GA | 0.8 | 200 | |||
| April 5 | 5:18 PM EDT | EF4 | Pembroke–Black Creek tornado, GA | 14.4 | 1,300 | 1 | 12 | |
| April 5 | 5:22 PM EDT | EF1 | Emanuel, GA | 6.2 | 150 | |||
| April 5 | 5:27 PM EDT | EF0 | Emanuel, GA | 0.7 | 50 | |||
| April 5 | 5:35 PM EDT | EF2 | Lexington, SC | 5.7 | 100 | 1 | ||
| April 5 | 6:03 PM EDT | EF1 | Allendale, SC | 1.3 | 100 | |||
| April 5 | 6:03 PM EDT | EF3 | Allendale, SC | 34.5 | 500 |
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.